Concrete Angel
by zearchitect
Summary: Vlad meets a strange girl on his way home one night. VM x OC. ONESHOT


**Concrete Angel  
**

**Summary: **_Introducing Ellie. Vlad meets a strange girl on his way home one night. ONESHOT VM x OC  
_

**Disclaimer: **_Don't own DP, BH does. I do own writing. Get used to it X.x. I ALSO OWN ESMERALDA, SHE IS MINE.  
_

* * *

It was cold and rainy. She held her knees to her chest and shook. She could feel her ribs cracking as she breathed and cried into her knees. She wasn't sure if they were broken or cracked or something else.

Her eyes were beginning to sting from the cuts on her face and the bruises on her eye.

She had worn out her other excuses around her friends. She ran into a door, she fell down the stairs…she fell out of her window.

Why didn't she try to protect herself in that family of freaks? She could go intangible, walk through walls, blast them away with her psychic energy…but it would all come at a price.

If she let them hit her, she had a place to stay. If she exposed the half of her that she had been keeping secret since birth…they would give her up for study or tell everyone about her as she ran away.

Why was this so hard?

She heard someone behind her, but she ignored the noise. She doubted she could turn around to see who or what it was anyway.

Someone placed a hand on her shoulder causing her to breathe sharply before letting out a wail of pain. The hand pulled back in surprise.

"Don't…touch…me…" she wheezed before her battered body gave way and she fell against the cool concrete.

XXX

A heart monitor was beeping when she opened her eyes. The room was dark and in the back of her mind she swore she could hear water dripping.

"Good," a smooth voice said, "you're awake."

Her eyes traveled to him, taking in his features. His hair was long a grey, he had it smoothed and pulled back into a pony tail. He wore a back suit and he was very muscular for how old he must've been. His eyes were a brilliant, yet dull color that she couldn't quite make out.

"Who are…" she started, but her voice faulted as she winced in pain.

"Vlad Masters," came his simple reply as he placed his hand on hers. She began to move her arm away, but pain shot through her shoulder and he frowned at her.

"What's wrong with me?" she asked, struggling not to use too much air. Vlad tilted his head back and let out a short laugh before turning back to her.

"Nothing is wrong with you child," he said. Her heart began to beat uncomfortably.

"Why…am I in so much…p…pain?" she struggled out.

"Oh," Vlad said, "you mean that kind of wrong." He paused, scratching his head for a moment before continuing, "Your shoulder was dislocated, your collar bone is broken, you have two broken ribs, a broken ankle and you are very thin for your height and age."

She took in a deep shuddering breath as she took all of this in.

"Frankly child," he continued, "I am surprised you are still living." She turned away from him and let a few tears fall from her eyes. The stinging continued.

"I wish I were dead," she whispered. Vlad looked at her with sorrow in his eyes. He wasn't really known for his soft side, but something about her just stole away his heart. Maybe young Daniel was right; he was getting soft in his old age.

A sob broke the silence between them as she began to cry.

"What's your name?" Vlad asked, desperately trying to get her to stop crying.

"Esm…" she tried, but she couldn't say the whole word, "Ellie." She used her nickname as a substitution in order to save breath and erase pain.

"That's a pretty name," he said sweetly. His tone almost made him want to puke, but if she cried she would be putting herself in danger of death. And if she died, how would he live with himself?

Why had he even bothered with such a wretch like her in the first place? Had she reminded him of what he used to be once upon a time; an unwanted child struggling by in society, trying to avoid going back to that place full of the people who hated him? Looking back on it now, he often wondered why he called them family.

"Why did you help me?" she asked, her voice was cool. There was the hatred he knew she had within her.

"Because," he said as his eyes went to the floor, "once upon a time I went through the same thing."

Fear struck her. He knew about the abuse! Well of course he would…it was obvious.

"I fell down the stairs," she lied. Vlad couldn't help but laugh.

"Child, if you had fallen down the stairs you would be dead by now."

"You'd be surprised," Ellie said dully.

Vlad raised an eyebrow. She certainly was interesting. And he had found her on a street.

"What do you mean by that child?" He asked. Ellie smiled. He was interested in what she was.

"I'm actually pretty tough for how small I am," Ellie said. Vlad laughed.

"Tell me child, how many times have you 'fallen' down the stairs?"

"Twice," she answered simply. Vlad laughed again.

"You lie."

"Why would I lie about falling down the stairs?"

"Because your home life isn't what most homes are like. Your family hates you and your parents hit you. Am I right child?" Ellie glared at him.

"They aren't my family," she spat.

"Now, now," he said, "I understand how much you hate them, but do they not sometimes love you?"

"I'm not one of them," she said, "I will never be one of them!" She sat up and despite the pain she ripped all of the wires and tubes from her body and jumped onto the floor.

Vlad stood up to stop her, but he was blown away by some kind of psychic energy. He gasped in surprise when he noticed she was floating a few inches from the ground.

"Surprised?" She asked.

"Slightly," he replied. He had thought she was normal, but as he stared at her now in a bubble of silver psychic energy he realized that she was even more special than he and Danny could ever be. She wasn't even human; she was two parts of something greater.  
Her laughter filled his mind.

"You are surprised," his mind laughed at him. He held his ears and fell to his knees.

"What is this?" He asked out loud.

"My power," she answered aloud.

Then like that she was gone. She had disappeared from his sight and left him wondering. So many questions he had for her. Like why hadn't he sensed her ghost half or was she even a ghost? Was she even human?

An angel he had found on concrete and a lesson he would never forget.


End file.
